Cold Outside
by lilgulie5
Summary: Quinn and Puck end up getting stuck together during a snow storm. Set during season 2. Rated T mostly for language. Updated. Chapter 2 added.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome! This is a one shot that I wrote but a LOT of the inspiration from it comes from the awesome Bakers over in the Puck/Quinn thread on Glee Forum. A few days ago we were all discussing how much we wanted to see Puck and Quinn stranded somewhere during a storm. This takes place in season 2 after Sectionals. Let me know what you think of it! I hope you enjoy! Xoxo-Katie**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or else EVERYONE would be getting Quick for Chrtistmas**

"What do you want, Puck?" Quinn asked as she answered her phone.

"Oh hi, I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking."

"Sorry. _Hello_, Puck."

"That's better," he replied smugly. "Hey, listen. I sort of have a problem. Do you think you can come over?"

"Is this a lame attempt for you to get me to come over to your house? Because, I have to say, that was pretty pathetic, even for you."

"Come on Quinn, don't flatter yourself."

"We've talked about this. I'm with Sam, I'm-."

"Wearing his ring, blah, blah, blah."

"You know what? I'm hanging up now."

"No wait!" Puck pleaded. "I'm sorry. Look, it's not for me. It's for Sara."

"Is she OK?" Quinn asked. She had a soft spot for Puck's little sister. They had grown close when she lived with them and she honestly missed the girl.

"Yeah, she's fine but they have this holiday dance thing at her school tonight and my mom's working a double shift. She's crying in the bathroom because she tried to put on some of my mom's make-up and I might have said something about looking like a clown."

"You are _such_ an ass!"

"Yes, I know, but it was a little true! OK, I don't know what the fuck to do. Can you _please_ come over?"

"Why not call Santana?" Quinn asked, trying to mask her jealousy. She was with Sam now. She shouldn't care who Puck spent time with, but something about the two of them together just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Because I don't want my sister going to the dance looking like a skank. I want her to look nice."

"Alright," Quinn finally agreed with a heavy sigh. "But I'm doing this for her _not_ for you."

"Right, thanks. See you in a few."

Quinn arrived about twenty minutes later, make-up bag in hand as she rang the doorbell to Puck's house even though she had never given her key back to him. It felt strange to be in the place she had once called home for the first time since she left to stay with Mercedes.

"Took you long enough," she said, pushing past Puck as he opened the door. "It's freezing out there and it's starting to snow."

"Yes, come right in why don't you," Puck muttered, closing the door behind her. "I guess it's supposed to snow a shit load tonight or something."

"Whatever. Where's Sara and how much time do I have?"

"Upstairs bathroom and her friend is picking her up in thirty minutes."

"Alright, that should be enough time," Quinn calculated in her head. "I think you should stay down here. We don't need any more clown comments from you."

"But-," he tried to protest.

"I got this. _Trust_ me."

Quinn took off her coat, scarf and gloves and thrust them to Puck before she ascended the stairs to find Sara. He rarely spent time with her outside of school and glee now, so seeing her in jeans, flats and a pale pink long-sleeved t-shirt with her hair down was a nice change from the Cheerios uniform and harsh ponytail.

When she reached the bathroom door, Quinn rapped on it gently and tried to turn the doorknob only to find that it was locked.

"Go away jerk face," came Sara's muffled response. "I hate you and I'm not going."

"Sara, it's Quinn. Your brother's downstairs, will you open the door? I came to help."

After a bit of shuffling, the lock clicked and the door opened just enough to reveal the dark-haired girl, her tear-stained face covered in make-up. Quinn felt terrible thinking about it, but she had to admit that Puck's sister _did_ look a bit like a sad clown.

"Did Noah call you?"

"No," Quinn lied until Sara narrowed her eyes. "OK, yes, he did."

"Then I don't want your help."

"Sara, come on. He did it because he's sorry and wants to make you feel better. You can either let me fix it or you can sit here and sulk all night."

"Fine," the younger girl replied with a huff and motioned for Quinn to follow her into the bathroom.

"First of all, let's get all of this off," Quinn began, gently wiping her face with a cloth from her bag. "You don't need all of this Sara. You're pretty without it."

"Why did you even come over? Aren't you dating that guy Sam?"

"How do you know that?"

"I heard Noah telling Finn how much he hates him," Sara shrugged and Quinn had to suppress a grin. _Guess I'm not the only one who's jealous._

"Close your eyes," she instructed and applied a very neutral eye-shadow before dusting on a pale pink blush. "I came because I know how important dances are and your brother sounded desperate."

"Will you put a braid in my hair the way you have yours?"

"Sure. Now, you don't need red lipstick. You've got such pretty pink lips, so we'll just put on a little bit of clear gloss over them and you're all set."

"Let me look!"

"No! Not until your hair is done. So…is there anyone _special_ you're trying to impress?"

"No," Sara answered quickly.

"That means _yes_. Who is he?"

"Just a boy named Joey, but I don't think he likes me."

"How could he not?"

"He always throws stuff in my hair because he sits behind me."

"He's just trying to get your attention," Quinn said as she twisted and worked a bobby pin into Sara's hair. She could remember another boy who used to do something very similar. "Alright. All set. _Now_ you can look."

"Wow," she replied, gazing at her reflection. "I feel pretty."

"That's because you are."

"SARA! Your ride is here, hurry the hell up!" Puck called from downstairs. "Don't forget your sleepover stuff!"

"Shit, I have to go. Thanks Quinn!"

"You're welcome," she replied as Sara practically flew down the stairs, grabbing her duffle bag at the bottom. "And don't curse!"

"Thanks again," Puck said as Quinn came down a few moments later. "Like I said, I really didn't know who else to call."

"Don't worry about it. I miss seeing her."

"I'm pretty sure she missed you, too. Now she doesn't have someone to gang up on me with."

"Oh, we did not _gang_ up on you," Quinn said defensively. "At least…not very often."

"_Sure_," Puck replied, enjoying the light, comfortable moment between the two of them. How they had gone from talking every day, falling asleep together on the couch, laughing and being close, to casual meetings and barely speaking, he would never know.

"I should probably get going," she said a little awkwardly and made a move towards the door.

"Why? Got a date with Sam? Sorry. You don't have to answer that."

"Actually, he's out of town this weekend. What about you? You're not getting ready to go out with Santana?"

"Nah, haven't tapped that in awhile."

"Eloquent as ever, Puck."

"Did you expect anything different?"

"No," she smiled.

"I was gonna order some take out," he said, looking at his feet and then up to her. "You wanna stay for some?"

"Puck-."

"From the place you like," he tempted.

"Just dinner?"

"Just takeout and you're buying your own. I'm not your boyfriend."

Quinn winced, though she wasn't exactly sure why. No, he certainly wasn't her boyfriend. Not anymore. _What would be the harm in eating some Chinese food together?_ She asked herself. It wasn't like she had any other plans for the night. _We can just be friends again, right?_

"Fine, I'll have-."

"Sweet and sour chicken and fried rice," Puck finished with a grin. "I remember."

An hour later, they were on his couch, finishing their dinner and laughing about him spending the entire night in a port-a-potty the previous week. He told her that his mom didn't even realize he hadn't been home because she was working as many doubles around the holidays to make a little extra cash.

"Alright, open your fortune cookie," Quinn said, tossing it to Puck, who removed the wrapper and crushed the cookie.

"It says _Be mischievous and you will not be lonesome_. Your turn," he replied and watched as Quinn unfurled her piece of paper, her eyebrow shooting up curiously. "What's it say?"

"Nothing nearly as good as your."

"Just tell me."

"No! Then it won't come true."

"Jesus, it's not a birthday wish, Quinn. You know that's part of the Chinese takeout rule at the Puckerman house. You _have_ to read it aloud."

"Fine. Mine says _The one you love is closer than you think_."

Puck was silent for a moment as she held his gaze for a few beats before he shrugged his shoulders and stood to take his container into the kitchen.

"Maybe Sam isn't as far out of town as you think he is."

Quinn chewed on her lower lip and tried to push out the other unspeakable thought that was running through her mind. _Get it together. It was __just__ a fortune cookie,_ she told herself and followed Puck.

"Man it's really coming down out there," she observed, looking through the window over the sink. "I should really get going or my mom will start to wonder where I am."

"You're in a rush to go out in that?" he asked. "I don't think so. The roads are probably icy as shit."

"I've got to get home somehow."

"It's been snowing for a little while, right? I'm sure the plows will come around eventually. We could watch some TV and see how the roads are in a little bit."

"Well," Quinn said hesitantly. "I really don't like driving in the snow. Let me text my mom. I'll tell her I'm at Brittany's or something."

She didn't really like lying to her mother, but Quinn knew she wouldn't think very highly of the idea of her being at Puck's in the first place. In fact, if she knew her daughter's actual whereabouts, she would probably hijack a snowplow and drive across town to get Quinn. For now, what Judy Fabray didn't know, wouldn't hurt her. When Quinn returned to the living room Puck was on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, flipping through the channels. She took a seat somewhere between his spot and the other end of the couch, careful to leave some distance between them and pulled her feet up under her legs. Suddenly a chill ran through her body and she shuddered visibly.

"You OK?" Puck asked, taking notice of the fact that she had started rubbing her hands together.

"Just a little chilly."

"Here, let me see," he said, instinctively reaching for her hands. "Damn, they're like ice, are you dead or something?"

He began to rub them together a bit between his own hands when his palm caught on something sharp and he pulled back to see the cold metal of her promise ring. He stared at it briefly, not knowing whether he should be pissed the he never thought of something stupid like that or jealous because she probably never would have worn it, so he decided to be both and released her hands as he sat back once more. He went back to flipping through the stations until Quinn stopped him with a squeal.

"Wait! Go back two channels!" she instructed and he complied.

"_Elf_? Are you fucking kidding me? Did you forget that I'm Jewish?"

"We watched it last year, remember?" She _knew_ he remembered because Puck didn't just forget things like that. He may pretend and play dumb, but ninety-five percent of the time it was just an act. She remembered that night so well. "It was the night you brought me that tiny Christmas tree."

"And we hid it in the corner of my bedroom."

"But you would close the door and turn it on when I went to sleep at night for a whole week."

"Yeah, I remember that night. We watched _Elf_ and then you thought it would be awesome to try spaghetti with maple syrup, _neither_ of what we had in the house."

"So we went to Super Wal-Mart at two-thirty in the morning and then I decided I wanted ice cream instead because they had a Ben and Jerry's display up."

"Which we _had_ at home," Puck smiled at the memory. "That was a good night."

"Yeah," Quinn agree, almost sadly. She didn't know why, but he always seemed to be able to cast a spell on her with his soft eyes and warm voice. "So, _Elf_ it is then!"

"Fine, I guess since you're _stuck_ here, it's only fair."

Despite the commercial breaks, the movie was still over long before the snow plows made any real progress on clearing the roads because the fluffy white flakes were falling at such a steady pace.

"This has been fun Puck, but I've really got to go home," Quinn said sincerely as she tried to reach for her coat, only to have him pull it out of her grasp. "Hey, give me my coat!"

"Do you see how much snow is still out there? That would come up to your knees!"

"Well, I'll just have to risk it."

"Quinn, it's a fucking blizzard out there. There's no way you're driving in that. If the plows haven't been able to get out there, your shit ass little Jetta isn't going to make it."

"I can't stay here. My mom is expecting me home at _some_ point tonight."

"Just tell her you're sleeping at Britt's. She would buy it and it's not like Britt would remember if you did or not."

Quinn shook her head and bit her lip. "I don't know."

"Look, you can pretend like you're going home all you want, you can even click your heels together, but I'm not letting you out there to get into an accident or to get sick or something."

"God! Why do you care?" Quinn burst out finally.

"You _know_ why."

"Right, just because you don't want me to get into an accident?" she asked unbelievingly.

"No, because I still fucking love you Quinn, OK?"

"You what?"

"You heard me. You think that just because you didn't say it back or because you're with someone else and he gave you a cheap ass ring it would change?"

"What about Santana?"

"What about Sam?" he countered.

"It's different. We're not _sleeping_ together," she shot back at him.

"You're right. It's _worse_ because you have a relationship."

"You don't know a damn thing."

"You're right, I don't know that your favorite movie is _the Notebook_, you're afraid of heights and of the dark, you like yellow because it always reminds of spring, you broke your pinky finger in the second grade, you hate mayo and living up to your sister's reputation, but _no_, I don't know a damn thing about you."

"Well you don't know everything about me," Quinn said quietly, still a little stunned.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

"I love you, too."

I'm not joking about this, Quinn."

"Neither am I," she replied seriously.

"Well, normally people _tell_ other people that kind of thing," Puck said for lack of something better to say.

"I know, it's just…I thought it would go away and then it _didn't_ and the school year started and you went to juvie and then Sam and I-."

"You can stop talking now," Puck said, silencing her by pressing his lips firmly against hers and taking her face in his hands. She responded immediately to his touch by wrapping her arms around his neck and granting him more access when he gently traced her bottom lip with his tongue. He broke away momentarily to kiss a path from her jaw to her neck, causing her to moan lightly.

"Mmm, wait," she said breathlessly. "I never called my mom."

"Gimme your phone," he murmured, pulling it from her back pocket and sending what was quite possibly the world's fastest text message ever, tossing it onto the couch when he was finished. "All done."

"What did you say?"

"_Bad snow, sleep Britt's."_

"She's going to think I turned into a caveman."

"Please stop talking about your mom when I'm trying to make out with you."

"Sorry," Quinn giggled and kissed her way all over Puck's face except for his lips. She was amazed by her own shamelessness, but for the first time in a long time she didn't feel guilty because she knew that she was being honest with herself. She never felt that way when she was with anyone else but Puck. It was like she could lose and find herself all in the same moment. It was terrifying and wonderful, like free falling with a parachute, there was rush of raw emotion and security all at once. She noticed herself being pulled up off the group and clasped her legs around his waist. "What are you doing?"

"If you want to stand at the front door, that's cool, but I was going to go upstairs."

Puck carried her effortlessly up the stairs and into his bedroom, laying her down gently onto his unmade bed. He proceeded slowly, giving her the control to decide what she wanted to do and was a little surprised when he felt her fingers tug up on the hem of his t-shirt. He helped her pull it over his head and tentatively reached for hers, looking up to gage her reaction, grinning when she nodded against the pillow. After he discarded her shirt, he kissed the soft skin of her shoulder, gradually making his way down her arm to her right hand. He looked at the ring that seemed like it came from the bottom of a cereal box and then up to Quinn, locking eyes with her as he slid it off of her slender finger and replaced it with a tender kiss. Smirking, he shoved it into his back pocket.

"I don't want to see that damn thing on your finger again."

"You don't have to worry about that, but maybe I should give it back to him."

"If he wants it back, he can come get it from me," Puck said and joined their lips together once again.

Much later, they were both fighting sleep as they lay facing one another. He pulled the covers high over her shoulders for about the third time as she snuggled in closer to him, laying her head on his chest. She loved the way it gently rose and fell and loved being able to hear his heart beat steadily match the rhythm of her own. Just as her eyelids grew too heavy to hold up, he nudged her head with his own.

"Hey, I think I just heard a snow plow. I guess you can go home now."

"That's OK," she replied with a sigh. "I'd rather be here anyway."

"Oh really?" he said, kissing the top of her head. "I think I'm OK with that."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Welcome to Chapter 2(ish)! Thank you so much for all of the reviews for Chapter 1! They were really a very pleasant surprise. I wanted to have this chapter out earlier but I was having some problems figuring out exactly how to make it work. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy it! Xoxo-Katie**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.**

He pulled up in front of her house and killed the engine. Puck was having second thoughts about his whole plan and started coming up with excuses and reasons not to leave his car. _Maybe she's not home,_ he told himself. _Or maybe she doesn't feel the same._ The second part was a lie and he knew it. Ever since she came over to his house the previous week, nothing had been the same between them. She wanted to break things off with Sam, had not even asked for the ring back yet, but her boyfriend was out of town for the holidays. She had told Pcuk that she couldn't break up with someone over the phone and he respected that so they laid low. Before he knew what hit him, he was sitting outside of her house on Christmas Eve. He could see a huge Christmas tree set up in the front picture window and he felt even more foolish for driving all the way over there that night. He pulled a bit of courage from somewhere, grabbed his _present_ off of the passenger seat and headed for the front door. After ringing the doorbell, he hoped like hell that her mother didn't answer the door. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that she still didn't think very highly of him.

Quinn was surprised to hear the doorbell ring that late at night. She had been getting ready to go to midnight mass with her mother for Christmas Eve and was already dressed in her red and black lace dress with a matching cardigan and was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She called into her mom's bedroom to let her know that she would get the door and then ran down the stairs, half expecting to be met by a very late last minute delivery of some kind or a group of caroler. She was genuinely surprised to see Puck standing in front of her, holding a very familiar miniature Christmas true. Her mouth fell open as he began to speak, both of their minds recalling the events of the previous year.

XXXXX

"_You were up early," Quinn said and sat at the kitchen table with her breakfast._

"_Yeah, sorry if I woke you up," he replied, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "My Nana called and asked if I would shovel her driveway and front walk. It snowed last night."_

_She nodded and played with her cereal, hardly noticing that he took a seat across from her. He always kind of liked it when they had breakfast together. It was something families did in the old TV shows he used to watch when he was a kid. Usually Quinn was more talkative, but he could tell something was bothering her. She had been living with Puck and his family for just over three weeks and they had settled into an easy routine. Quinn had even shed her shell and began to treat his house as her own, something his mother had told her to do time and time again. During the first week she stayed mainly in Puck's room which she shared and camped out on the safety of his bed, making excuses that she needed to study for their upcoming finals. After the next two weeks, mostly thanks to Puck's little sister Sara, Quinn grew more comfortable with the family that had opened their home to her, including Puck. _

_Honestly, she couldn't explain her feelings for him. She did care about him but she was still getting over her relationship with Finn and she was thankful that Puck gave her the distance and time she needed to sort herself out. _

"_Whatcha thinking about?" he ventured and attempted to capture her gaze._

"_Hmm?" she asked, looking up her bowl. "Oh, nothing. Just…thinking, I guess."_

_He'd never tell anyone, but he loved the way she looked in the morning and that day was no exception. She was in a pair of black sweatpants, one of __his__ t-shirts that she had stolen the previous week with a giggle, with a grey zip-up fleece thrown over it. Sometimes, her hair would be up, but that day it was down, still a little messy and there was something about it that he really liked. It was natural and he felt just a little bit special that she allowed him to see her like that. He contemplated asking her another question and changed his mind as he stood to place his cup in the sink, stopping to take her bowl and glass along the way. _

_As he rinsed the dishes, Puck glanced over to the calendar posted on the fridge to see when his mom and sister were coming back to town and he realized that the day's date was December 24__th__. He may have been Jewish, but he didn't have to be a genius to know that December 24__th__ was Christmas Eve. He knew it was coming up but he frequently lost track of the date when he wasn't writing in his notebook everyday at school. It didn't take him long to realize that Quinn's sullen melancholy was most likely associated with the upcoming holiday. He felt a wave of sympathy wash over him. 'Damn,' he thought. 'Today is the eve of one of the awesomest holidays for Jesus lovers and she has to spend it with a Jew'. Looking back at Quinn's slouched form at the table he knew he had to do something to make the day a little more special for her. _

_XXXXX_

"_Hey," Puck said, poking his head around the door to his bedroom. Quinn was lying on the bed, watching TV and she jumped a little at the sound of his voice. "Sorry."_

"_What are you doing?" she asked, propping herself up a bit to see what he was up to._

"_I've got something for you, but I want you to sit up and close your eyes." She looked at him skeptically for a moment so he threw in a 'please' for good measure._

"_You'd better not come in here without any clothes on…again," she warned him while reluctantly doing what he asked._

"_I told you, last time my towel slipped. Don't worry, I'm fully clothed. You can't open your eyes until I say so."_

_She could hear rustling and some mild cursing going on in the corner of the room but had no clue what Puck was up to. Out of habit, she sighed impatiently and had to force herself not to peak. "Can I look yet?"_

"_No," he replied and fiddled with her surprise a little more._

"_Now?" she asked no more than five seconds later just to irritate him._

"_Ouch__, stupid fucker," he muttered under his breath. "NO!"_

"_What about now?"_

"_Jesus, Quinn, I swear-."_

"_OK, fine, I'm sorry. I won't ask anymore."_

"_Well, you don't have to because it's almost ready," he said and she could tell that he was standing very close to her. "Now, take my hand and stand up so I can take you to it."_

_Quinn complied without protest and cautiously took a few steps in the direction Puck was leading her in before he stopped her and turned her body ever so slightly. He let go of her hand and tinkered with something for a bit longer as she stood behind him with her eyes still shut tightly._

"_OK, open them," he said while at the same time switching on the lights of a small Christmas tree. Quinn opened her eyes and felt her mouth fall open as she stared at the illumined little tree. It was no more than three feet tall, but Puck had set it up on a TV tray and wrapped a red plaid shirt of his around the base. It was strung from top to bottom with colored lights that added a warm glow to the room, but there were no ornaments on the branches yet._

"_Oh Puck," she whispered, unable to find other words or tear her eyes away from the tree._

"_I'm not a Christmas tree expert, or a Christmas expert either, but I know they're important and it's Christmas Eve and I just thought that you deserved to have a tree. I didn't know if you wanted white or colored lights so I put the colored ones on, but I'll change them if you-."_

"_It's perfect," Quinn said, cutting Puck off and surprising him by throwing her arms around his neck. He folded his arms around her, drinking in the scent of her hair and enjoying the feeling of her little belly pressed against his stomach. _

"_So, I guess that means you like it?" he asked._

"_I love it."_

"_Good. It's not done though. I got some little ornaments and a star for the top. It'd be more badass if it was a Star of David, but the lady at the store looked at me funny when I asked her about it. Doesn't she know that baby Jesus was a Jew?"_

"_Do you think you could help me decorate it?" she suggested._

"_Yeah, I think I can do that."_

_Quinn and Puck spent the next half of an hour placing the little colored orbs onto the tree. He reached into the bag and pulled out the small gold star, handing it to her._

"_You do it," Quinn told him, leaving out the fact that her dad always used to put their star on top because the moment was too wonderful to ruin with sad memories. Puck nodded and smiled as he placed the star onto the highest branch. He stepped back to admire the work they'd done, surprised that she let him place his arms around her waist and even rested her head back against his shoulder._

"_Thank you, Puck," she said, squeezing one of his hands gently. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell by her voice that she was smiling and he knew that his mission was accomplished._

"_No proble,m Quinn. It's a good thing my mom and sister are gone for a few days, but we'll have to make sure the door is closed anytime you want to have it on."_

"_When I was little, my parents used to let me sleep in the living room the night we put up our tree and they would leave it on all night."_

"_We can do that."_

"_Puck, you really don't know how much this means to me."_

"_I think I have a little bit of an idea."_

_They ended up ordering Chinese food, a Puckerman Christmas tradition, and ate it on his bed so Quinn could enjoy the tree as much as possible. Puck let her flip through the channels and was thankful that she passed up most of the sappy black and white Christmas movies and settled for one that he was at least familiar with because it's more recent._

"_Do you mind if we watch __Elf__?" she asked, certain that he wouldn't tell her 'no'. _

"_Sure," he agreed. "Will Ferrell's pretty funny. Actually, __any__ dude in tights is pretty funny."_

_Puck tried really hard not to notice the way she leaned closer to him during the movie because it was easier for him to believe that she wasn't interesting in him __like that_, _even if it wasn't true. He hated himself for causing her so much pain, but then she would laugh or smile at him and he remembered all over again why he did everything he did and he wasn't quite as sorry. Still, the last thing he wanted to do was to push her away, __again_._ In the meantime, he thought he could be patient and kept doing nice little things like making her Christmas special to try and win her over._

_Quinn wasn't sure what part of the movie she fell asleep during but it must have been sometime after Buddy ate spaghetti and syrup because she woke up with an intense craving for just that. Until then, she had been really careful to put her usual favorites on the weekly shopping list or picked them up herself, but she'd never really had a craving __that__ strange before. She looked over to Puck and found that he was still asleep. He had both arms tucked behind his head, his lips slightly pushed out in a pout. In the pleasant glimmer from the tree, his tan face was even more attractive and his angular jaw appeared softer, kinder. If she told anyone from school about the things Puck had done for her that day, or lately for that matter, they'd never believe her. She could tell he was putting forth an effort, although it was a quiet and often unspoken one. _

_It really was the little things that meant so much to Quinn. He gave her the good pillow, got up first to shower so that she could sleep longer, kept a careful eye on her when they walked out to his truck to make sure that she didn't slip on the ice and now he had turned what started off as a bad day into one of the most memorable Christmas Eves ever. Because of all of that, she really didn't __want__ to wake him, but when her stomach rumbled she knew the craving wouldn't go away anytime soon. She sat up slightly and shook Puck gently._

"_Mmm, Quinn," he mumbled almost incoherently in his sleep. "I'll keep you warm, baby."_

_She was taken aback and more than slightly amused that it sounded like he was dreaming of her. Sure, she had dreamt of him, but she just attributed that to her crazy hormones. She nudged him more firmly and called his name to try and coax him from his sleep._

"_Hmmm, what? I'm up! Is the tree on fire?" Puck asked, clearly startled. _

"_No, it's fine," Quinn replied, stifling a laugh. _

"_What's going on? Are you feeling OK?"_

"_I'm fine, just…hungry, or I should say __she__ is hungry."_

"_Babe, you know where your stuff is," Puck sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I made Sara promise not to eat your ice cream anymore."_

"_I don't want ice cream."_

"_What do you want?"_

"_Ummm, spaghetti…and syrup."_

"_Quinn, that's gross."_

"_I can't help it," she practically whined and he quickly realized that she was serious._

"_I don't think we have either of those things in the house, sorry."_

"_Maybe…we could go get some?"_

_He could tell that she wasn't going to give up anytime soon so he check his phone for the time, groaning when he saw that it was past two in the morning. He glanced up at her, which was a mistake because it only took one look from her pleading eyes for him to be completely done in._

"_Alright" he sighed. "I'll be back soon."_

"_I'll come with you."_

"_That's OK. It's cold as hell outside. Just stay here."_

"_I wasn't asking to go with you," she said, standing from the bed. "I was __telling__ you that I'm going with you."_

_The Super Wal-Mart was the only place in town that was open 24/7 on Christmas Eve so Puck drove his truck over there, being extra careful on some of the snow-covered roads. He might have been tired as hell, but Quinn seemed to be wide awake as she sang along to the songs on the radio. Regardless of how he felt about the amount of sleep he was missing out on, she still managed to put him in a pretty good mood. The night was bitterly cold and his truck was pretty slow to heat up so Puck was thankful that the ride was only a little under ten minutes long. It came as no surprise to either of them that the store was practically deserted and they received some curious looks as Quinn led the way through the aisles, looking like she was on a mission. The spaghetti was easy enough to find, but the syrup proved to be a greater challenge. They were about to head down the pancake and breakfast aisle when something caught her eye and she stopped dead in her tracks, nearly causing Puck to run into her. _

"_What the fu-," he began to ask when he noticed the Ben and Jerry's ice cream display to his left. In a second he knew their search for syrup had come to an end as Quinn shoved the box of spaghetti back at him and marched over to the freezer section. _

"_I'm sorry," she said meekly once they were back inside the truck. She watched his jaw clench and unclench before he took a deep breath and visibly softened._

"_It's OK. I'd rather have you eat ice cream that that nasty shit you were going to make anyway."_

"_But we have ice cream at home and I made you drive all the way out there at two in the morning in the freezing cold."_

"_Quinn, it's __fine__," he assured her. _

_It was just past three when they finally made it back up to bed. Puck was surprised that Quinn offered a bite of her ice cream to him because she was normally very possessive over anything to do with food. _

"_Thank you for my tree," she said as he pulled the covers up from the foot of the bed, making sure she was warm enough. _

"_You're welcome," he replied. "I'm glad you like it so much."_

"_Thank you for everything," she whispered and leaned over to kiss him lightly on the cheek. _

"_Merry Christmas, Quinn."_

_XXXXX_

"Quinn!" her mother's voice rang from the top of the stairs, jarring both of them from their memories. "I asked you who was at the door."

Puck was fully prepared for her to say _no one_, to hide him from her mom and shut the door in his face with an apologetic look, but she didn't do any of those things. Instead, she took his hand and pulled him into the warm house with a smile.

"It's Puck," she called back to her mother. "He stopped by to bring me a Christmas present."


End file.
